Ferrovial cancela el proceso de venta de su planta fotovoltaica en España en plena crisis del sector

Ferrovial has canceled its process to sell a solar photovoltaic plant in Spain amid a sector crisis. The company announced the sale of the El Berrocal solar plant in Spain two years ago, but has since suspended the procedure, according to documentation sent to its investors. The plant, located in Sevilla, has a capacity of 50 megawatts (MW) and was valued at nearly 50 million euros in the market.

Ferrovial contracted Banco Sabadell in 2024 for the sale process, but now admits "no sale has been completed and there is no active program to find a buyer". The solar park was originally purchased from infrastructure fund Infrared at the beginning of the decade when Ferrovial decided to enter the energy sector, alongside other construction and services companies such as Acciona, Sacyr, and ACS.

However, the solar business, which enjoyed golden years and high valuations due to high energy prices following the Ukraine war, started raising doubts in 2023 due to various reasons. These include volatility in prices, cannibalization, and a collapse in central day prices (when solar generates power), rising financing costs due to interest rate hikes, displacement to other technologies following the 2025 grid shutdown, and the shift towards nuclear prolongation.

These factors have tightened the prospects for renewable energy, particularly solar. Ferrovial has also had to reduce the controllable value of the El Berrocal solar park by one million euros due to falling energy prices and reduced production estimates. The company explains that this decrease in controllable value is due to "a decline in energy prices and a reduction in production forecasts".

The recent extension of the nuclear Almaraz plant has further reduced the space for solar, especially in the Extremadura area near the atomic plant, which will continue operating for three more years than planned (until 2030). Despite this, the renewable sector aspires to a general extension of the nuclear park. Renewable energy promoters criticize the situation, stating that their investments were made "on a regulation, an electoral promise kept to date, and an agreement between nuclear plant owners and the government".

They argue that at least some compensation or support for battery installations should be provided to offset technical curtailment (hours when solar power is not fed into the grid and generates no income). However, the suspension of Ferrovial's solar sale is not an isolated case. Companies such as FRW, Lightsource BP, Iberdrola, Acciona, Galp, Macquarie, and Qualitas Energy have had to cancel sale commitments to major investment banks or, if they managed to close a transaction, at much lower prices than expected when the process began.

Despite this, Ferrovial's energy business represents only a small part of its activity, which is more focused on infrastructure and concentrated in the United States and other specific areas. In fact, the company moved to Wall Street this year based on its more international profile. In the same month of August, Ferrovial announced that a consortium including its participation will develop a 7.882 billion euro road project in Tennessee.

Other Spanish companies have not given up and are maintaining an ambitious plan to rotate renewable assets, like Repsol or Acciona. The Entrecanales-controlled multinational has not ruled out selling 100% of Acciona Energía, a renewable generation subsidiary with a stock value of around 7.000 million euros.